Cat, who had been loping along behind us, yipped happily, not at all offended.
“A fair point,” Raza muttered. “I can't recall why I tolerated him now.”
“Because anyone who loves Seren, will fight to the death for her,” Tiernan said simply.
“You seem rather enlightened today, Lord Tiernan,” Raza noted suspiciously.
“I've gained a new perspective on things.”
Tiernan's choice of words made me blink and then look to Raza in surprise. It was so close to what I'd said to him recently.
“Yes,” Raza kept his eyes on mine. “That seems to be going around.”
Chapter Thirty
The throne room was full, but an aisle was made as soon as we entered. Raza's wings lifted behind him gloriously to give him a dramatic entrance. I walked in the cradle of his right wing, Cat at my side. Tiernan brought up the rear, but he held back when we reached the steps to the dais. I did not. As royalty myself, I was allowed to join Raza. As his girlfriend, I was allowed to sit in his queen's throne.
As soon as we sat, several fairies approached us. One was Hana, Raza's cousin, who was also the steward of Unseelie Castle, the previous unseelie royal residence. She looked as fantastic as ever, her lemon yellow hair pulled back in a severe braid. She was dressed in something masculine, all leather and metal, but she could never be confused with a man. Not ever. She may be Amazonian tall, but she had curves like a succubus.
“Your Majesty,” she bowed her head to Raza.
“Cousin,” he said, dismissing her propriety. “Why have you come?”
“Your scry worried me,” Hana said. “I've been thinking about these new elven weapons, trying to devise a way to combat them.”
“Yes,” Raza looked over the concerned crowd. “I see it has concerned you all.”
A muttering agreement circled the room.
“Then you will be relieved to hear that I've taken steps to counter their advantage,” Raza smiled at me. “With the aid of Princess Seren and Lord Killian.”
“What steps?” Hana asked. “How do we fight elves when we won't even be able to see them?”
“Wewillbe able to see them,” Raza looked to me. “Could you explain the human devices to them? I'm sure you will do better at it than I.”
“It's called a thermal imaging scope,” I said, and the gathering went quiet. “Looking through it allows you to see how hot things are. Bodies radiate heat and therefore can be seen through things that don't manufacture their own warmth, such as trees and bushes. You will see the shapes of their bodies, their heat signatures, which will provide you with targets to aim your own arrows at.”
“But our arrows won't be tipped in iron,” Hana growled. “We need weapons to match theirs.”
The unseelie shifted uneasily and a new muttering started.
“You may be right,” Raza held up his hand. “I will look into arming our troops with iron arrows. But I cannot guarantee that I will be successful. The man who created the arrows for the elves is now dead.”
“Shot by Moire,” someone in the crowd said.
“Yes, he was shot by Moire,” Raza agreed. “So I would have to find another human with the skills to create these arrows, then hire him to make us thousands of them. That will take time. Time which I'm not sure we have.”
“We will fight regardless, Your Majesty!” One of the red caps in the back of the room shouted. “We are not afraid of iron, be it arrows or swords!”
The room cheered and bolstered, but Raza held his hand up for silence.
“I know you are brave and loyal,” Raza stood to speak. “You are unseelie!”
They cheered again.
“But bravery should not be hampered by imprudence,” Raza went on. “We will have healers among our warriors, so that iron poisoning may be dealt with immediately. And if we do attain iron arrows, you will be trained on how to properly handle them. Over time, a close proximity to the iron can injure us. Remember that. We don't carry iron swords for that very reason. No matter what we made the hilt of, an iron blade would be too close to our skin for us to safely wield. These arrows give us the distance we need between us and the iron, but if they are carried or used incorrectly, there could be injuries. I will not lose any fairy unnecessarily. We'll alleviate the threat and even the fighting field... carefully and shrewdly.”
The room broke into applause, cheers, and even foot stamping. Yes, Raza was a born leader. He could make pretty speeches like nobody's business. But his words didn't assuage the fear I felt, festering in my chest. I hated to admit it, but Danu's desertion was messing with me. Bad.
